Among packages (PKG) made by integrating a plurality of devices to execute data processing, there has been a package that, by applying an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) to the devices, enables re-designing (re-configuration) of logic circuits to be configured onto the devices, respectively.
This package is required to allocate total power to the respective devices, in other words, to optimize power consumption to be consumed by each device, so that the package may achieve optimum data processing performance within the total power available to the package. For this reason, the conventional package has been developed and manufactured by a developer of packages according to a development flow described below.
Firstly, the developer prepares configuration data indicating the logic circuit to be configured onto the device, for each of the devices and determines in advance the power consumption to be consumed at the time of operation of each device onto which the logic circuit is configured. Next, the developer confirms that a total of the power consumption to be consumed by each device (total power consumption) falls within a target power value pre-established as a magnitude of the total power available to the package and is approximate to the target power value.
Then, the developer makes a test package (package for evaluation) in which the logic circuits are configured onto the devices, respectively, actually measures the total power consumption to be consumed by the data processing by this test package, and performs a test to see if an actually measured value of the total power consumption obtained by the measurement falls within the target power value and is approximate to the target power value.
If test results are obtained to the effect that “the actually measured value of the total power consumption is considerably smaller than the target power value”, then the developer changes the logic circuit to be configured onto any device of the test package to a logic circuit of higher data processing performance so that the actually measured value of the total power consumption will come close to the target power value. Then, the developer makes the test package with the logic circuit changed and tests it again.
On the other hand, if test results are obtained to the effect that “the actually measured value of the total power consumption is greater than the target power value”, then the developer changes the logic circuit to be configured onto any device of the test package to a logic circuit of lower data processing performance so that the actually measured value of the total power consumption will be within the target power value. Then, the developer makes the test machine with the logic circuit changed and tests it again.
If, after such trial and error, test results are obtained to the effect that “the actually measured value of the total power consumption falls within the target power value and is approximate to the target power value”, then the developer manufactures this test package as an actual package.
There has been also disclosed the invention in which the logic circuits to be configured onto the devices is changed during actual execution of the data processing by the package, based on temperature of heat generated from the package or the device (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications Nos. 2006-244429 and 2004-022724). However, according to this invention, the total power consumption is not at all actually measured, thus the power consumption to be consumed by each device cannot be optimized in order to obtain maximum data processing performance.
The conventional package has a problem that it takes effort and working cost to develop the package. Namely, since the conventional package requires the package developer to make trial-and-error effort of selecting a device whose design is to be changed, making another test machine with the design changed, and testing the machine again, it has the problem that it takes effort to develop the package. The conventional package has also a problem that since it takes effort to develop the package, it takes the working cost to develop the package.